Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Has $247.68 Million Stock Position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS trimmed its position in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 587,615 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 7,694 shares during the quarter. Microsoft accounts for 4.8% of Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $247,680,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MSFT. BCK Partners Inc. increased its stake in Microsoft by 1.8% in the third quarter. BCK Partners Inc. now owns 1,353 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $582,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $1,866,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC increased its position in Microsoft by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sequent Asset Management LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $853,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,208 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,380,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MSFT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson raised shares of Microsoft from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $425.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Microsoft from $515.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Microsoft in a report on Thursday, March 20th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $470.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $499.97.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $367.78 on Monday. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $468.35. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $388.25 and its 200 day moving average is $412.70. The stock has a market cap of $2.73 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.61, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.34.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a net margin of 35.43% and a return on equity of 33.36%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.93 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.73%.

Microsoft Company Profile

Microsoft Corporation develops and supports software, services, devices and solutions worldwide. The Productivity and Business Processes segment offers office, exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, office 365 Security and Compliance, Microsoft viva, and Microsoft 365 copilot; and office consumer services, such as Microsoft 365 consumer subscriptions, Office licensed on-premises, and other office services.